Weight-Related Conditions - Banner

CYTOKINES

Weight-Related Conditions

Almost 4x greater risk of diabetes than cats in ideal body condition.

Feline diabetes

In cats, obesity is the most recognized risk factor for diabetes. 

Affected cats develop insulin resistance that, when the pancreatic beta cells eventually fail to compensate, results in persistent hyperglycemia. 

1kg increase in body weight=30% decrease in insulin sensitivity

Obesity causes insulin resistance in cats.2-4

Weight loss can help to decrease insulin resistance and reduce the risk for diabetes mellitus.2

Canine diabetes is typically more similar to type 1 diabetes in people. While obesity does not appear to be a direct risk factor, insulin resistance has been reported in overweight dogs5 and can make canine diabetes more difficult to manage.6

Key things to remember

  • Obesity is the most recognized risk factor for feline diabetes, and obese cats have an almost 4 times greater risk than cats in ideal body condition.
  • Weight loss can help to decrease insulin resistance and reduce the risk for diabetes mellitus.

Explore areas of managing a healthy weight

MANAGING A HEALTHY WEIGHT

MANAGING A HEALTHY WEIGHT
muscle tissue

DEFINING HEALTHY BODY CONDITION
Weight Management

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT

Find out more

  1. Scarlett, J. M., & Donoghue, S. (1998). Associations between body condition and disease in cats. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 212(11), 1725–1731. ​
  2. Hoenig, M., Thomaseth, K., Waldron, M., & Ferguson, D. C. (2007). Insulin sensitivity, fat distribution, and adipocytokine response to different diets in lean and obese cats before and after weight loss. American Journal of Physiology – Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology, 292, R227–R234.
  3. Michel, K., & Scherk, M. (2012). From problem to success: Feline weight loss programs that work. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 14, 327–336. doi: 10.1177/1098612X12444999
  4. Appleton, D. J., Rand, J. S., & Sunvold, G. D. (2001). Insulin sensitivity decreases with obesity, and lean cats with low insulin sensitivity are at greatest risk of glucose intolerance with weight gain. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 3, 211–228.​
  5.  Larson, B. T., Lawler, D. F., Spitznagel, E. L., Jr., & Kealy, R. D. (2003). Improved glucose tolerance with lifetime diet restriction favorably affects disease and survival in dogs. The Journal of Nutrition, 133(9), 2887–2892.​
  6. Behrend, E., Holford, A., Lathan, P., Rucinsky, R., & Shulman, R. (2018). 2018 AAHA diabetes management guidelines for dogs and cats. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, 54, 1–21. doi: 10.5326/JAAHA-MS-6822​